Where are they now?

Escondido High alumni leave their mark

Escondido High coach Joe Gelormini recently took the time to inform us about the whereabouts of several Cougar alumni:

Pictured: Louie DeSantis takes a breather at 2005 San Diego Masters tournament.

Scott Cleve (CIF, Masters champion in 2001 has been wrestling at Adams State College in Colorado and qualified for the Division II nationals in 2005 where he went 1-2. Cleve will be a senior at Adams State this fall, and is looking forward to big things, according to Gelormini. Cleve competed in the 158-pound class this past season, and may wreste there again next year.

Louie DeSantis, who was CIF champion and placed third at the San Diego Masters this past season, was courted for quite a while by Adams State but instead decided to pursue his collegiate career first at Palomar College. Gelormini said DeSantis’ style will serve him well as a college wrestler. DeSantis, who may compete at the collegiate ranks in the 149-pound weight class at Palomar, will also become one of Escondido High’s assistant coaches, as the next three young men have as well.

Kris Shirley (2nd CIF, 3rd Masters in 2000) wrestled at Palomar, placing twice at the state championship meet, before finishing his collegiate career by placing fourth in the "club" sanctioned college nationals for UC Irvine in 2004. Shirley graduated with distinction and honors (summa cum laude).

Trevor Boucher (3rd CIF, 5th Masters in 2004) is playing baseball in college and played a key role on Palomar's state finalist squad this past season. It was the first time a San Diego team has ever reached the state finals. According to Gelormini, Boucher is looking forward to a great sophomore season after hitting .436 his freshman year). Gelormini added that Boucher may continue his collegiate career at St Mary's College in Moraga (a strong Division-1 program). St Mary's had five players chosen in the Major League draft this year, so Boucher is looking to set his hopes high.

Taylor Schmidt (CIF, Masters and state champion in 2000) has had an interesting collegiate experience. He first went to CSU Bakersfield on a wrestling scholarship, wrestled at Palomar the next year (placing in state) but settled on football after that (he just got too big to make the weight, Gelormini said). He is now SDSU's starting guard, after being the only Aztec to start every game for SDSU last season (at center). A senior this fall, Schmidt, who has since married, is currently ranked among the top 30 guards nationally in a few publications. Gelormini said we may expect to see Schmidt playing soon on Sundays.

2004-05 College Wrestling Report

Former Norseman Guffey places at NAIA finals

By Pat Howard

Special to www.sdgrqappler.com

With the scarcity of spots available in NCAA Division I wrestling programs, some area wrestlers have chosen to compete in a variety of small schools sanctioned under the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. In this year's NAIA championship tournament, held March 3-4, in Sioux City, Iowa, Valhalla High graduate Ryan Guffey placed seventh to end his collegiate wrestling career as a two-time NAIA All-American.

Guffey completed his senior campaign at William Penn in Iowa with 112 wins and 68 pins. Besides his seventh-place finish in 2005, he was sixth as a sophomore in 2003.

Guffey was the only San Diego Section wrestler out of four NAIA national qualifiers to come away with a medal. Fellow Valhalla grad Matt Howard (sophomore 165-pounder, Embry-Riddle) went 1-2 while Vista alumnus Kyle Bickford, (junior, Menlo College) was 2-2 and RBV grad Nick Leon (freshman, Embry-Riddle) was 1-2. Hilltop alumnus Brian Scambler (freshman, Nebraska's Dana College) was in attendance at the tournament but not as a competitor.

The NAIA includes 28 teams, many in its Central Region that stretches along the Mississippi River from Iowa to Missouri.  Five new NAIA teams entered in 2004 and plans for an additional 10 teams are in the works. Such would make the NAIA the fastest growing opportunity for incoming college wrestlers.

The small, mostly private school network offers a wide variety of academic opportunities. On the west coast, there are three NAIA schools in the United States and one in Canada.

Menlo College near Palo Alto, Embry-Riddle in Prescott, Ariz., and Southern Oregon University, along with Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, comprise the NAIA’s Western Region.

Embry-Riddle offers programs in all aeronautical fields from flight and engineering to security and intelligence. Menlo College is a liberal arts school also offering management degrees.  Southern Oregon University offers a complete array of choices from business to sciences. Simon Frasier University offers programs in business and health science fields.

At least three NAIA programs offer women’s wrestling: Menlo, Missouri Valley and Simon Frasier. The NAIA tournament featured 212 qualifiers. Sioux City boasted one of the newest programs in the NAIA, Morningside, which sent five freshmen to the tournament.

Missouri Valley competed at the Body Bar U.S. Women’s Freestyle Nationals April 8-10 at Grossmont High School.

For wrestlers willing to explore the center of the United States or even the east coast or Canada, there are 25 other schools with programs that may fit their career goals.

Results and other information on NAIA can be found on the Web site at www.naia.org.